Annika Sorenstam Welcomes Kai Trump to LPGA Spotlight, Recalls Her Own PGA Tour Experience
Annika Sorenstam remembers the overwhelming scrutiny all too well. When she accepted a sponsor exemption to play in the 2003 Bank of America Colonial — her only PGA Tour start — she simply wanted to improve her game. She had no idea what she was walking into.
“All of a sudden, it felt like the whole world had an opinion about my game, and [were asking], why should a woman play in a PGA event?” said Sorenstam, who shot a respectable 71-74 to narrowly miss the cut. “There were a lot of thoughts and comments out there. I think what was most interesting is people that never really covered golf, especially women’s golf, all of a sudden, they were experts in my game.”
Two decades later, Sorenstam couldn’t help but experience déjà vu while playing nine holes Monday at Pelican Golf Club with Kai Trump. The 18-year-old granddaughter of President Donald Trump is days away from making her LPGA debut at this week’s The Annika Driven by Gainbridge.
The scrutiny facing Trump might be even more intense. She’s still in high school, and while she’s signed to play for the University of Miami next fall, she isn’t ranked inside the top 1,000 in most national junior rankings. Now she’s preparing to compete in the LPGA’s penultimate event against pros fighting for spots in next week’s CME Group Tour Championship or to keep their cards.
Sorenstam knows Trump won’t be lifting the trophy Sunday, but that’s not the point of the exemption awarded by Pelican Golf Club.
“It’s about opportunities and memories and lessons learned,” Sorenstam explained during Tuesday’s press conference.
What impressed Sorenstam most after their round was Trump’s curiosity and eagerness to learn. She noted that Trump hits the ball high and far but needs work on her short game and putting — an assessment Trump herself agreed with.
“You need to have good hands around the greens. I would say that’s a weakness of mine,” Trump admitted.
Sorenstam was struck by Trump’s inquisitiveness on the course, particularly at the third hole where Trump began asking about swing mechanics.
“I was talking to her about my tendencies and said, ‘What are your tendencies?’ And she went off, this is what I do, and I’m trying to do that. Wow, she’s really interested in just getting better and learning about her swing,” Sorenstam said. “She was telling me her hip is going this way and everything. I’m just listening. I’m not going to give you any pointers here because it’s a little bit late, just a few days before the event. But just the excitement of learning and getting better, I thought that was pretty cool.”
Sorenstam added: “I was trying to remember if I was 18 and I would play with somebody, if I would dare to ask a question. I probably would’ve been super quiet.”
Her advice to Trump was straightforward: Have fun. Trump received similar guidance from her grandfather, who “won’t attend the tournament because he’s running the world right now, so a little busy,” and Tiger Woods, who is dating her mother, Vanessa.
The President told her not to get nervous. Woods encouraged her to go with the flow.
“I think I’m going to learn a lot no matter what happens,” Trump said. “I’m just going to go out there and have fun and see which way it goes. I’m going to take a lot away from it. Obviously, competing with the best players is going to be cool. To be inside the ropes with them playing with them, learning what kind of shots they hit, what do they do on the course.”
Trump expects to feel “nervous excitement” when she tees off at 12:32 p.m. ET Thursday alongside Olivia Cowan and major champion Hinako Shibuno.
“Just going to go out there, have fun, take a deep breath before I hit the shot, and go from there.”
What stands out about Trump is her fearlessness. She’s not afraid to acknowledge past struggles. At the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley last March — by far her biggest start to date — she shot 89-79-83-89 to finish 52 over, last place by 22 shots.
“I didn’t play so well,” Trump readily admitted, “but I think I learned a lot in that tournament not playing well.”
On Tuesday, she sat in front of a room full of reporters — fittingly, in front of a framed American flag — and handled it better than many pros. She barely stopped smiling, even as social media debates continued about whether she deserves the spot or if she’ll break 100.
“It’s one of those things where if you get put into the situation at an early age, you get used to it,” said Allan Kournikova, who will caddie for Trump this week.
Kournikova, now 21, was thrust into the spotlight early as both the younger brother of tennis star Anna Kournikova and one of the stars of Netflix’s “The Short Game.”
“The more time in that situation, the better you get at it. She’s gotten very, very good at it, and I’m proud of her to see how she handles it so gracefully.”
Dan Doyle Jr., owner of Pelican Golf Club, was beaming after Trump’s press conference. “She’s lovely to speak with,” he said, while noting the tournament’s social media impact. An Instagram post featuring Trump and Sorenstam from Monday has already surpassed 20,000 likes, while most tournament posts barely reach double digits.
WNBA star Caitlin Clark’s inclusion in the pro-am starting last year — Clark will play again Wednesday — has certainly raised the profile of The Annika. Kai Trump competing has “created a buzz on top of the other great players that we have here,” Doyle added.
Doyle shared that during his weekly Monday breakfast at the nearby Belleair Café, his waitress, who hadn’t previously shown interest in golf or the tournament, was “over the moon” about this year’s event. She even wore tournament-branded apparel and kept other diners informed about who was playing and when.
The Kai Effect, perhaps?
Sorenstam just hopes people keep an open mind, like she wished others had done for her 22 years ago in Fort Worth.
“Going out there and playing a big course and environment like this, I’m sure she’s used to a lot of people looking at her and analyzing everything,” Sorenstam said. “One thing that’s different this year is I’ve never seen so many Secret Service people around here; I feel super safe, that’s another thing. I just don’t know how she does it honestly. To be 18 years old and hear all the comments, she must be super tough on the inside. I’m sure we can all relate what it’s like to get criticism here and there, but she gets it a thousand times.”
“That’s why I just want to give her a break, come out here and have fun. We want her to feel like family here, and I want her to feel welcome.”
“I mean, give this girl a chance, right?”
